Abdullah Ibrahim

Abdullah Ibrahim, born Adolph Johannes Brand, later known as Dollar Brand (from a popular brand of matches), is a South African pianist and composer who was born in Cape Town in 1934. His music ref

Abdullah Ibrahim, born Adolph Johannes Brand, later known as Dollar Brand (from a popular brand of matches), is a South African pianist and composer who was born in Cape Town in 1934. His music reflects many of the musical influences of his childhood, ranging from traditional African songs and religious music, to more modern jazz and other Western styles. He first received piano lessons at the age of seven, and was playing jazz professionally by 1949. In 1959 and 1960, he played with The Jazz Epistles in Sophiatown before joining the European tour of the musical King Kong.

In 1962 during a tour of Europe Duke Ellington heard “The Dollar Brand Trio” playing in Zürich's “Africana Club”. As a result, a recording was set up with Reprise Records; “Duke Ellington presents The Dollar Brand Trio”. The Dollar Brand Trio (with Johnny Gertze on bass and Makaya Ntshoko on drums) subsequently played at many European festivals, as well as on radio and television. Since then he has toured mainly in Europe, the United States, and in his home country, South Africa. Performances are mainly in concerts and clubs, mostly as a band, but with the occasional solo piano. He plays piano, flute, and saxophone, and composes all of his own music.